Crappy Easter!

No, I did not mean to say "Happy Easter" (although I do hope all of you had a wonderful one!). I said "Crappy Easter" because that's kind of what we had! And it was all because of this uber-crappy Northwest weather we've been having. We booked a couple of camping trips this month at Grayland, one of our favorite camping spots (and clamming spots) and so our first trip was this weekend. Everyone was excited - Grayland, yay! We left to cloudy gray weather on Saturday morning and by the time we arrived at Grayland it was a constant "mist" and windy. Well, that mist turned into torrential downpour, and the wind turned into something akin to a small tornado! I was fully expecting to start shouting "Auntie Em, Auntie Em" and see a wicked witch fly by the camper window. The camper rocked and swayed and flapped and shuddered all night long (read: no sleep). And the rain was amazing. Just a TON OF RAIN! I am so sick of it. We had a 3 gallon bucket outside the camper (for collecting clams) and it filled up overnight, Jeff dumped it and it filled again halfway before we left. Regardless, Jeff still felt compelled to go clamming. He spent a few hours in the horrible weather (the wind and rain was even worse on the beach) and came away with 24 clams (and possibly hypothermia?). It was just a lot of work for just over 24 hours of being away from home (and felt a LOT longer). The only cool thing was right after we arrived, I saw an eagle flying just above the treetops with an animal in it's talons (a rabbit? Or perhaps someone's pet chihuahua??). Of course, I wasn't able to get my camera out in time. But it was pretty amazing! Anyway, we came home and had nachos, grapes and chocolate chip cookies for Easter dinner (so traditional, huh?). Tomorrow we plan to "do Easter" with baskets and an egg hunt, plus freshly made clam chowder, after Arlie arrives home from Spokane. So, hopefully our crappy Easter will turn in to a happy Easter after all!

Thoughts on Thursday

I AM SICK OF THIS RAIN!!!! It's ridiculous. Yesterday it snowed all day. Just that "substantial rain" type of snow, that's white and thicker than rain and sticks but melts faster than it can accumulate. It blows sideways. The day before that, when we were enjoying some more sideways rain, the wind blew so hard for about an hour that when I arrived home, my entire deck and side of house was covered with fallen branches and the kids made a fort out of the 20-30 foot long branches they found on the playground (geesh, if they had been out there? Who knew our playground was deadly!) I can't even imagine what my roof looks like and this morning Harrison said our gutters were overflowing. It's April now. March was supposed to go out like a lamb. Well, it didn't.

In other news, this morning when I was rinsing dishes to stack in the left side of the sink (WHEN will they learn - rinse and move to the left, rinse and move to the left), I found a pencil floating among the apple peels and plates with hardened cheese on them. A pencil? What the hell? And it just reminded me of how lazy we can all be. Case in point - this morning when I arrived downstairs at an ungodly hour to prepare lunches for four children who will probably only eat half of what I packed (but I digress), the hallway rug was askew. Did I kick it back in place? I did not. And neither did the five other people who walked over it this morning. I finally scooted it back in place (and I didn't even have to bend over!) and I thought, how hard was that, really? I have walked past a candy wrapper on the ground for days, wondering when someone would pick it up (but, aha! That someone was ME!) Jeff enjoys taking the little stickers off fruit and putting them anywhere but IN the garbage - on the counter top, the edge of the sink, he once even collected them in a notebook (I know, therapy moment there) Last week the dog chewed up some unmentionable items in the garbage in my bathroom and the bits and pieces are still there. Every day when I get out of the shower, I think "I should really vacuum that up" and yet, there it sits, day after day, probably being tracked into other locales. Ugh. Everything is just so MESSY.

My next big project (that I didn't choose and don't want to do) is switching Hayley's and Arlie's rooms. For some inexplicable reason, Arlie has decided she won't sleep in her downstairs room anymore. She has spent countless nights on Hannah's floor in a makeshift bed, or IN Hannah's bed (when Hannah is feeling particularly generous) and finally, last night, Hayley said she would switch rooms with her (actually Hayley was up for this a while ago, but I wasn't sure about putting my teenager right next to the back door for easy, middle of the night escapes with her friends!). After assuring me this wouldn't happen (yeah, right) I finally decided to let them switch. Problem is, the rooms are different sized and layouts so they are going to have to keep the furniture in them and just switch personal belongings (which might seem to make it easier, but the truth is, it's the "personal belongings" part that's impossibly a mess). I absolutely refused to paint the walls, though. So, Hayley will now be enjoying bright pink walls while Arlie will be bathed in purple and pink. Add to this that Hayley has her walls ENTIRELY covered in newspaper clippings, magazine pages, and comic strips. Fun. It might be easier to just remodel and add another upstairs room. If only...........

Well, the dog is loose and in hunting mode so I better go avert his evil intentions. Time to shower and get ready for yoga anyway. Being in a zen-like mode today will do me good (and the coffee and donut after isn't a bad incentive!). Namaste!

We Love a Parade!

Well, except in Seattle. Arlie was invited to walk in the Woodinville All Fool's Day Parade over the weekend with her gymnastics center. She was SO excited to be in parade......however...let's just say it definitely rained on our parade! It poured actually. And was cold. And icky. And the whole thing was not very enjoyable. But we managed a few photos anyway. We might sit this one out next year!

St. Patrick's Day Bitch and Moan Festival

Yesterday we participated in the 25th annual St. Paddy's Day Dash in downtown Seattle. Or should I say St. Paddy's Day Splash. Or, as the title suggests, The Bitch and Moan Festival. This was to be a culminating project of sorts - we had been working on ten weeks of "living healthier" and making changes to our diet and exercise (with limited success, I might add), and this 5K was to be the "celebration" at the end. Well, daybreak brought 33 degrees and snow. We rolled out of bed at 7:30 a.m. and dressed in long underwear and layers. Begrudgingly we headed downtown to falling snow with flakes as big as the palm of your hand! We were running late so Jeff dropped us off and we were on the opposite side of the Seattle Center from the start line. So, huffing and puffing before we even started the race, we found the starting line just as the starter gun went off for the "yellow wave". Thinking we were the purple wave, and therefore the last wave, we didn't rush to get in line. Oops. The yellow wave WAS the last wave so we quickly realized our error and skipped across the barrier to get in line. At this point, Jeff was parking the car and planned to meet us along the route. Several minutes went by while I waited for his call. After 20 minutes or so, I finally called him. He was ahead of us by a few blocks, having started at the wrong spot. We met up and that's when the hell began. After walking several blocks, we began to hear Harrison complaining about........well........EVERYTHING! Let's see, here are some of the more notable complaints: My legs hurt. My ankle hurts. This must be more than a 5K. Where is the turnaround? You said it was just around the bend. I can't do this. I think I'm having a heart attack. My legs are so tired. I can't do this. Why can't we jump over the barrier? I'm tired. Stop walking so fast! I can't do this!!! Of course, he COULD do it, and he did, but the 1.5 hours of constant complaining, coupled with freezing rain, wet feet and the fact that we were dead last made the whole experience about as pleasant as putting bamboo shards under one's fingernails. I believe I said things along the lines of: NEVER AGAIN! Hannah and Arlie walked so slow that the "sweeper" police car was on their tails the last half of the race, and when we crossed the finish line, the crews immediately started taking it down! We stepped across the finish line and headed to McDonald's where we indulged in Egg McMuffins and hot cocoa while we sat dripping and soggy and freezing. And that, my friends, is spring in Seattle. Hannah and Arlie came up with a slogan to help us decide whether or not to leave the house next time we decide to do something like this (oh, but I did say NEVER AGAIN, right?). They said "Rain and snow? Don't go! Sunshine? It's fine!" Don't let the photos fool you. It was pure misery, despite the fake smiles. Did I mention NEVER AGAIN???

Simple Sunday

Jeff is off at another job interview and I'm blogging from my bed, which is currently being shared by Shade and Charlie (ick, but not worth the hassle to kick them off). Today was a good day. Jeff and I slept in and then he brought me Starbucks and donuts for the kids. Harrison went with some friends to a "mini curling camp" where he got to try out the Olympic sport of curling. Interesting! He enjoyed it and has two more Sundays to try it out. When he got back we all piled into the car and headed to Country Village where we fed the ducks (great way to get rid of stale oyster crackers, gross cereal and old pita bread!). Then, we went to a fancy cookie shop and had various sugar-laden treats. We had two extra kids with us, so with the seven of us in there, one couple asked if we were having a party. I said "oh, no, these are just my kids!" Last stop was a little shop that sells realistic looking animals that "breathe", on which Arlie and Harrison spent $30 each of their own money (update - Arlie's dog's battery door won't shut and Harrison's doesn't work at all - we'll be heading back tomorrow to remedy that!). Hayley, Hannah and I all got some cute scarves and Hannah also bought a hat. It was a nice outing with the kids, even though it rained buckets and is still pouring down. Stupid Seattle weather! It did make for some cute pictures though.